Schedule of Echo 2026: Classical music sector day

• Composer Philip Venables
• Music theatre maker Gorges Ocloo
• Soprano Madeline Saputra

Throughout history, art has always played an active role in social debate, from supporting those in power to defending the alternative. The classical music sector seems to be the exception to this rule. But is that really the case? Various perspectives are presented in this panel on the tension between ethics and aesthetics. How do they break through the safe walls of the concert hall with work that challenges society and the status quo? How much social power does an artistic practice hold, and how can classical music remain part of a contemporary, relevant, and necessary dialogue? Composers, creators, and musicians explore the boundaries of their field and the challenges of engagement.

• sound artist Aurélie Nyirabikali Lierman
• festival director Jan Van den Bossche
• cultural journalist Marijn Lems
• moderated by Evelyne Coussens

While social themes are a regular feature in the visual arts and theatre, classical music seems to prefer to tiptoe around them. When we do engage in conversation about sensitive issues, it is often more difficult than in other disciplines. Why is that? Do we not have a position, or do we not dare to take one? Do we fear resistance to processes of reflection and evolution? How do we communicate our views, and does the concertgoer want to hear them? About the elephant in the concert hall, the cliché of a conservative audience, criticism and image formation.

• Professor of Cultural Management Annick Schramme
  Intendant Gunther Broucke
• Advisor to the Cabinet for Culture Veerle Simoens
• Moderated by Amani El Haddad

Artistic autonomy is the focal point of the arts sector. In this debate, we will examine the relationship between artistic freedom and administrative power. To what extent do subsidies, political correctness and administrative codes determine the limits of our autonomy? Stakeholders' interests seem to undermine mutual solidarity and disrupt the balance between social engagement and independence. But is that really the case? Is art still free when it (un)consciously listens to higher powers?

• Andrea Voets, artistic director of Resonate Productions
• sound artist Myriam Van Imschoot
• curator Riah Naief
• moderated by Katherina Lindekens

In a polarised world, the art of listening is under pressure. Today, sending seems to be more important than receiving, and few venture into fundamental conversations outside their own bubble. Within this social reality, the concert hall is called an oasis of connection, but who exactly are we connecting? How polyphonic is our landscape, and how carefully do we listen to the different voices that populate it? The three speakers in this panel turn listening into an art form. In Andrea Voets' work, musicians and listeners engage in dialogue on challenging themes, to the rhythm of innovative musical dramaturgy. Riah Naief runs Listen Gallery, an inclusive space for sound art and collective listening in Glasgow. And Myriam Van Imschoot, with her organisation newpolyphonies, also strives for a more inclusive approach to sound and voice art, delving into the symbiotic creative processes of sonic communities. Together, we talk about listening as practice, ethics and politics.